Major US stock indexes finished trading mostly in the red, as the decline in quotations of the raw materials sector and shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK) compensated for the growth of the technological sector.

The focus was also on the USA data. The report from Automatic Data Processing (ADP) showed that: growth rates of employment in the private sector of the US slowed in November, but were stronger than forecast. According to the report, in November, the number of employed increased by 190 thousand people compared to the figure for October at 235 thousand. Analysts had expected that the number of employed will increase by 185 thousand.

Meanwhile, the Labor Ministry said labor productivity in the US rose in the third quarter, while labor costs fell, another sign of lower inflationary pressures, despite a solid economy. Labor productivity grew by 3% year-on-year in the third quarter, this is the biggest increase in three years. This estimate, the second from the Ministry of Labor, confirmed the preliminary data on the productivity jump released last month. Costs decreased by 0.2% per annum in the third quarter; Previously, the Ministry estimated that costs increased by 0.5%. Economists had expected a jump in productivity of 3.3% per annum, and 0.2% of the annual increase in costs per unit of labor.

Most components of the DOW index recorded a decline (20 out of 30). Outsider were the shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK, -2.60%). The leader of growth was shares of Microsoft Corporation (MSFT, + 1.33%).

Most sectors of the S & P index finished trading in the red. The greatest decrease was shown by the sector of raw materials (-1.2%). The technological sector grew most (+ 0.4%).

At closing:

DJIA-0.16% 24.140.98 -39.66

Nasdaq + 0.21% 6,776.38 +14.16

S & P -0.01% 2,629.27 -0.30

U.S. stock-index futures fell slightly on on Wednesday as high-flying technology stocks remained under pressure on worries over lofty valuations and the impact of a tax reform on corporate earnings.

Global Stocks:

Nikkei 22,177.04 -445.34 -1.97%

Hang Seng 28,224.80 -618.00 -2.14%

Shanghai 3,294.13 -9.55 -0.29%

S&P/ASX 5,945.71 -26.11 -0.44%

FTSE 7,340.57 +13.07 +0.18%

CAC 5,347.43 -28.10 -0.52%

DAX 12,931.94 -116.60 -0.89%

Crude $56.86 (-1.32%)

Gold $1,295.00 (+0.01%)

(company / ticker / price / change ($/%) / volume)

Twitter (TWTR) initiated with In-Line rating at Evercore ISI

Amazon (AMZN) initiated with Outperform rating at Evercore ISI

Facebook (FB) initiated with Outperform rating at Evercore ISI

Alphabet A (GOOGL) initiated with Outperform rating at Evercore ISI

European stocks finished lower Tuesday, suffering their third loss in four sessions, with drops for Provident Financial PLC and tech shares weighing on the region's main benchmark.

U.S. stock-market indexes closed lower Tuesday, driven by losses in utilities, telecoms and industrials sectors. An earlier rebound in the technology sector fizzled out, sending the Nasdaq Composite into negative territory, reversing solid gains in the morning.

Asia-Pacific equities experienced fresh selling Wednesday following modest overnight declines in Europe and the U.S., as commodity prices added to ongoing softness. Tech stocks were key to Tuesday's weakness in Asia and the up-to-3% overnight slide in metals prices added to pressure on Wednesday.

(index / closing price / change items /% change)

Nikkei -84.78 22622.38 -0.37%

TOPIX +4.10 1790.97 +0.23%

Hang Seng -295.48 28842.80 -1.01%

CSI 300 +21.31 4040.17 +0.53%

Euro Stoxx 50 -5.65 3570.57 -0.16%

FTSE 100 -11.47 7327.50 -0.16%

DAX -10.01 13048.54 -0.08%

CAC 40 -13.76 5375.53 -0.26%

DJIA -109.41 24180.64 -0.45%

S&P 500 -9.87 2629.57 -0.37%

NASDAQ -13.15 6762.22 -0.19%

S&P/TSX -53.35 15915.68 -0.33%